Chapter 40

Chapter 40

“Of course, I will!”

Count Sharp’s face brightened.

“Whatever you bring with you, you can think of it as belonging to the Lord. Because you saved Sharp.”

* * *

They set off the next morning as soon as the sun rose. The mine was located quite far from Baron Veron’s estate. It was only after riding a full day on horseback that they reached the entrance to the first mine.

“This is the Southern Tiara you were looking for.”

“Southern Tiara…”

Celine skilfully jumped off her horse and looked around. The mine was located on the hillside, so the vast County estate could be seen at a glance. Even from a high place, she could see the traces of a group of monsters scratching farmland and private houses.

Turning and observing the entrance to the mine, she felt as if an abyss was lurking in a long, magical tunnel.

“Shall we go in?”

Leonhard nodded his head, pulled out Rashir, and lit the darkness of the tunnel. Then, they walked silently in the dark.

‘…A stage, right?’

Celine remembered the fourth stage.

Occasionally, there were gems that glowed in the dark and twinkled, but it was not in such a dark tunnel. However, if it was the stage, there had to be something about it that would threaten her.

In particular, the fourth stage…

“What?”

Leonhard stood still.

“What’s wrong…?”

“Something is following us.”

“Is it a monster?”

“I don’t think so.”

The enemy of the fourth stage was a threat in the dark whose identity was never revealed. If caught, the player would die in the dark in various brutal ways.

Celine thought for a moment.

‘…Let’s face it.’

After all, both she and Leonhard have powers. Nevertheless, her concern for Leonard, if it was not a monster, struck her heart. What if it wasn’t a monster but a terrifying being in this world he didn’t know well…?

‘And, if we fight against it rather than being chased like in the game, we may not be able to achieve the clear conditions.’

She then grabbed Leonhard’s arm.

“We better go quickly.”

After a while, Celine could feel the presence of something pursuing them in the dark.

‘….’

Goosebumps swelled up.

Clicking on the black monitor evoked the horror of running away from an unknown enemy with the eerie music. Even though Rashir illuminated the darkness, she could only see a few steps ahead of them.

The presence was felt not far from them.

“That thing, it’s controlling its speed.”

She remembered when she was in the fourth stage when the enemy she chased after a player suddenly slowed down. It was saving power, and then it suddenly attacked the player. For her, she didn’t get the timing right… How many dead endings did she see?

“…Run.”

At that, they ran through the tunnel at full speed.

The being followed them at a very slightly slower speed. A cold sweat ran down the back of Celine’s neck. Suddenly, a presence was felt a few steps behind her back.

‘I have to run faster.’

Her breath caught in her throat, but she couldn’t use magic to blow sweat into the wind or interfere with the pursuer. However, if she asked Leonhard to face it, the stage may not be cleared. Celine ran like crazy, hoping she wouldn’t die from running too fast.

Finally, they reached a corner that she could recall.

Just before turning the corner, she saw a small wooden door tied with a chain with a lock.

“Are we going in?”

“Yes.”

Leonhard immediately struck the chain with Rashir.

—Creeaakk.

The wooden door opened with a creepy sound.

‘There is a chest…!’

Seeing it, she quickly ran to the door and opened the chest. An ordinary-looking dark green robe appeared. If she covered herself with this robe, the pursuer would no longer pursue them.

“Leonhard!”

“….?”

He looked bewildered at Celine, with the robe draped over her head. The next moment, she moved closer to Leonhard and lifted the robes.

“Cover it together.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on!”

Celine didn’t wait for his answer as draped the hem of the robe over his head. It was large enough to cover the player’s head to toe in the game, so there was no shortage of using it for two people.

“Now, let’s go.”

“….?”

Celine grabbed Leonhard’s arm and urged him.

For a moment, his body stiffened, but he did not refuse. He was drawn to her and meekly walked out of the door.

“The presence has disappeared.”

“It’s because we’re covered in this.”

“Did you see this in your dreams, too?”

“Yes.”

Although Leonhard looked like he had a lot to say, he didn’t say anything further. They turned the corner and continued on the passage.

‘It’s warm.’

A small smile appeared on Celine’s face. As she walked with him in the chilly cave, covered in the robe, her body gradually became warmer. Involuntarily, she leaned lightly against Leonhard’s body.

‘….?’

Suddenly, he stumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. I can’t see well because of the robe… Can’t you take it off?”

“No. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, be patient.”

“…Okay.”

After that, he hesitated a few more times, and each time he gave the robe as an excuse.

‘It looks quite uncomfortable.’

However, right now, clearing the stage was the most important situation.

How long has it been…?

‘Finally!’

The blue-gray eyes filled with joy as a fresh outside wind blew in from afar, and the sun shone at the end of the passage. At last, the passage was finally over, and they were freed from the beast of an invisible threat.

She only needed to walk a little more. A little more walk, and through this passage…

But, the moment she reached the end of the tunnel, Celine’s face was distorted. A deep blue lake stretched out endlessly in front of them.

It was the fifth stage.

Leonhard’s bewildered voice was heard.

“I wonder if there was a place like this in Sharp.”

“It came out of my dream.”

“…You’re not normal. When I return to the north, I will hire you as the official prophet of my family.”

Celine couldn’t even laugh at his joke. It was because she saw a yellow boat on the shore not far from them.

“Should we ride this across?”

Leonhard slowly approached the boat.

“No!”

She exclaimed.

“Why?”

“If you ride it, you die.”

“….”

He took a few steps back from the boat.

Seeing it, Celine sighed in relief. Of course, Leonhard is the villain in this game, so he wouldn’t die as easily as her, but it was just in case.

“Then, we have to go back…”

“No.”

Celine licked her lips.

“We have to go across it. Swim.”

Leonhard looked a little startled.

“It’s doable. The fish will try to bite off the flesh, and the seaweeds will try to tie your ankles and drown you.”

“I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Although Leonhard replied as if it was no big deal, she couldn’t erase his anxiety.

“You have to be really, really careful here.”

“Haven’t we passed places that seem more dangerous so far smoothly?”

Celine answered quickly.

“Because it was a particularly terrifying dream.”

The fifth stage was a place that could be cleared only by controlling the arrow keys properly. Nonetheless, she was not very flexible on her own.

The only thing she could trust was Ringzor.

Celine took a deep breath.

“Leonhard, I’d rather be the only one passing through this lake.”

“Why?”

When he reacted somewhat sharply, Celine bit her lip. Even Leonhard himself wouldn’t be immediately convinced.

“It’s too dangerous. You could die or get hurt…”

“So, you mean just watching you die?”

“It doesn’t matter because I will come back to life! But, if Leonhard dies or gets hurt, that’s the end of it!”

“Celine.”

It felt like her heart had stopped. Like the deep sea, the blue eyes looked deep into her.

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to you or to me.”

“However…”

“And, I want you to trust me. There’s nothing I can do about it if I’m not reliable because I don’t have the talent to come back from death.”

“….”

She had nothing to say because Leonhard pinpointed the biggest reason she didn’t trust him.

Celine let out a sigh.

“Let’s go together. Instead, be careful not to get hurt. I’ll force you to open your mouth and pour out the medicine if you’re only a little hurt.”

“Who’s talking?”

He wanted to do some research before going into the water. She then watched as he put Rashir into the water.

A faint smile appeared on Leonhard’s lips.

‘…Why does he look good?’

By the time she realized something was strange, she was already one step behind.

“Leonhard.”

The whole lake bubbled and became like a steaming hot spring. Celine watched anxiously as the dead, man-eating fish floated over the boats.

“Leonhard, this is…”

“As long as you feel it’s dangerous, it’s enough to eliminate the risk factor.”

Saying so, he slowly pulled out Rashir.

“I can feel the poisonous species that are still surviving. Still, the number would have been much lower. It’s cooled down to the right temperature, so you can go right in.”

“…Thank you.”

She could barely regain her composure.

Come to think of it, there wasn’t much change from the game. There were still some man-eating fish that survived, so she had to cross the lake to fulfill the condition.

—Splash!

Celine took a deep breath in her and then plunged into the bottomless lake. Unlike the game in which the lake water was described as cold enough to freeze to the core, Leonhard set it to an appropriate temperature and kept it warm.

It almost felt like bathing in a hot spring.

…Unless there was not the man-eating fish that rushed to bite her.

Celine wielded Ringzor, and she caught the man-eating fish that ran at her one by one. All of the man-eating fish were quick and difficult to snipe at due to their small size. Though thanks to using Ringzor, she was able to handle them with ease because she was well versed in detailed magic.

‘If I had used normal magic instead of Ringzor, I might have been bitten sooner…’

It wasn’t long before she got to the point where she couldn’t hold her breath.

“Huwah!”

Celine climbed to the surface, took a deep breath, and then she dived again. Actually, she wanted to swim, but if she did, her lower body would be bitten by man-eating fish.

As she climbed up to the surface a few times and she came back down, her eyes could see a small island of sand.

‘It’s over there…’

Now, she had the energy to get excited. She barely climbed onto the sand island.

‘….!’

There was no reward for clearing the fifth stage that she remembered.

Instead, there was a tiara, which was more gorgeous than any jewelry she had ever seen, lying on the sand. It was studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and opal grains and sparkled brilliantly.

Celine recognized a dark red stone that shined brighter than any other jewel in the middle of the tiara.

It was a magic stone.